Cristina de Middel

Cristina De Middel was born in Spain in 1975, and is now based between Mexico and Brazil. She joined Magnum Photos in 2017 and became an associate member in 2019. In 2022, she became a full member of the agency and was voted in to replace Olivia Arthur as the new Magnum president.

De Middel investigates photography’s ambiguous relationship to truth. Blending documentary and conceptual photographic practices, she plays with reconstructions and archetypes to build a more layered understanding of the subjects she approaches. Working from the premise that mass media is reducing our real understanding of the world we live in, De Middel responds to an urgency to re-imagine tired aesthetic tropes and the insertion of opinion in place of facts.

De Middel’s impulse toward an unconventional angle developed after a 10-year career as a photojournalist. She moved away from straight documentary and produced the acclaimed series, The Afronauts (2012). This explored the history of a failed space program in Zambia in the 1960s through staged re-enactments of obscure narratives, challenging the traditional depiction of the African continent.

De Middel’s project Gentlemen’s Club, which began in Rio de Janeiro in 2015 and expanded to every continent around the globe, bar Australasia, focuses on prostitution’s less documented side: the male clients. Her intimate portraits subvert the paradigms of the status quo to provide new sources of insight and understanding. Released in 2024, Journey to the Center investigates phenomena related to the migration route through Mexico, with an atmosphere and symbolism inspired by Jules Verne’s famous novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” As well as her acclaimed personal projects, De Middel has worked on commission for clients including the Nobel Peace Foundation, Christian Dior, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and FC Barcelona.